Police launch a capital murder investigation.

An investigator looks at the burned home in the 200 block of Karen Lane where three bodies were found.

Photo By John Davenport/jdavenport@express-news.net

An arson investigator enters a home early Wednesday morning, Sept. 14, 2011 in the 200 block of Karen Lane, where a fire broke out at about 3:30 a.m. According to SAFD Captain Fernando Sosa, two people were found dead in the home. One was a woman in her 40s and the other is believed to be an 11-year-old girl. Another body was found later in the day.

Photo By John Davenport/jdavenport@express-news.net

SAFD Chief Charles Hood speaks with the media on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011 about a fatal fire at a home located in the 200 block of Karen Lane. "It's obvious it's a crime scene," Hood said.

Photo By Express-News graphic

Photo By John Davenport/jdavenport@express-news.net

Police Chief William McManus (left) looks at the scene of a fatal fire in the 200 block of Karen Lane on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011. The location is being treated by officials as a crime scene. "It's tragic what's inside that house," McManus said.

Photo By John Davenport/jdavenport@express-news.net

Police investigate a home in the 200 block of Karen Lane where a fatal fire broke out about 3:30 a.m.

Photo By John Davenport/jdavenport@express-news.net

An arson investigator and his dog exit a home in the 200 block of Karen Lane, where a fire broke out at about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011. According to SAFD Captain Fernando Sosa, two people were found dead in the home. One was an adult woman and the other is believed to be an 11-year-old girl. A third body was found later in the day.

Photo By John Davenport/jdavenport@express-news.net

A San Antonio Police officer expands the crime scene area in front of a home in the 200 block of Karen Lane on the North Side of San Antonio on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011. An early morning fire broke out at the home around 3:30 a.m. and three deceased females were found inside.

The discovery of three bodies in a burning Northeast Side house Wednesday is being treated as a capital murder investigation, police said.

Officers questioned a man about the deaths of the two women and a child, saying he was not a suspect “at this point.”

At an earlier news conference, Police Chief William McManus identified the man and said he was a person of interest in a homicide in which a mother and daughter had been found dead in the home.

Arson investigators later found the third victim.

“We're investigating it as a capital murder,” police spokesman Sgt. Chris Benavides said. “The circumstances appear to be suspicious, but we do know that the fire also could have contributed to the deaths.”

The names of the victims were not released.

“It's tragic what's inside that house,” McManus said of the mother and daughter.

He said a history of violence at the household may have led to the killings and said the person of interest was the woman's husband.

Court documents show the girl, 10, had been the subject of more than two years of bitter legal wrangling by her parents over her custody, but indicate the parents weren't married.

Firefighters responded to the blaze at 3:30 a.m. in the 200 block of Karen Lane in a neighborhood just north of Terrell Hills. Fire investigators were attempting to learn what started the blaze, which drew more than 40 SAFD personnel to the scene.

Fire Chief Charles Hood said the house was “definitely a crime scene.” The first two bodies were found only after the fire was extinguished and “this afternoon, we got notification from our arson investigators that there was a third victim,” he said.

According to court documents, the mother alleged the girl had made several outcries accusing the father of sexually assaulting her, after an earlier allegation that her uncle, who lived with her father, had physically abused her. The father accused the mother of drug use. The mother had failed to pay court-ordered child support, according to the documents.

In January, the mother filed a police report alleging the father slashed the tires of her 2000 Hyundai Elantra.

On Aug. 1, the mother reported to police that her daughter had been sexually assaulted several times by the girl's father, beginning in November and occurring at least once during each of her visits with him, most recently on July 23, police spokesman Officer Matthew Porter said.

The mother applied for a protective order for the child Aug. 11, submitting a sworn statement that the girl had said her father had been sexually abusing her since November. A temporary protective order was issued Aug. 17.

The child was placed in the care of her mother, who agreed to keep the girl safe, according to Walker and court documents.

Mike Litofsky, who owns the burned home, said the woman “took care of her child well.” A property manager who declined to be named said the girl, her mother and the woman's boyfriend had moved into the home in February of 2010 and were good tenants.

“They were very polite, friendly, good, nice people,” she said. “I never had any problems.”

The property manager said she was shocked by news of the fire and deaths and, like many others who knew the mother, couldn't confirm she had died.

The child and her mother were well-known at the Circle School, where the woman had worked as an after-school teacher. She had since left the school, director Blanca Luna said, and had been taking care of children at her own home.

Luna said she and the school's tight-knit community still were trying to determine if her former employee died.

“We're just like everyone else, waiting for information on who police identify,” she said, declining to comment further.

A woman acquainted with the mother and child said the daughter likely was troubled by her parents' ongoing conflicts.

“It's a very, very sad and gross history. (The daughter) was definitely affected by it, but she was a wonderful person and a wonderful girl,” she said, declining to be named.

Neighbors stopped to look at the gutted house Wednesday morning as they walked their dogs and went for jogs.

“This neighborhood is quiet,” said Joe Perez, 58, who also lives on Karen Lane and drove to the scene to try to find out who had died.

Neighbor Beth Brown said she had seen the woman and her child days before, when they came home with a pet rat. Brown had then given the woman a pair of boots.